Fruit flavours continue to dominate the yoghurt market, according to Innova Market Insights, which found they feature in over two-thirds of global launches in the 12 months to the end of March 2013.
The launches included the more traditional flavours like strawberry and peach, but as in previous years, exotic, unusual and more complex flavours such as papaya, damson and coconut featured strongly.
For instance, in the UK, flavours from Collective Dairy include Banoffi and White Peach & Raspberry, while a limited edition Papaya & Coconut variant replaced the previous Mighty Mango line.
According to Innova, plain, natural or unflavoured yoghurts are the second most popular option globally, featuring in about 12 per cent of introductions, and finding particular traction in Asia where levels rose to over 22 per cent.
Brown flavours, such as chocolate and caramel, took third place globally, ahead of vanilla.
“The yoghurt market is generally showing good growth, and this is reflected in terms of new product activity, where levels are continuing to rise globally,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights.
Williams said with an increasingly competitive marketplace, the need for product differentiation has led to developments in flavours over recent years, most notably into more upmarket and complex options often featuring a number of different ingredients.
In some cases, formulations were being taken from other sectors of the market, such as desserts, bakery and confectionery, she said.
In Germany, for instance, Stracciatella (with chocolate flakes) appears to be a new area of focus with introductions under the Landliebe and Activia brands in the first part of the year.
According to Innova, the split-pot concept has helped to move the level of flavour sophistication forward, by allowing for the addition of sauces and purees, as well as inclusions such as chocolate or mini-biscuits.
Originally confined to dual-compartment pots, the market has now extended to include three-compartment pots, permitting wider options in terms of the number and type of ingredients that can be offered.
Ehrmann has been a leader in this area with its Almighurt Nach Herzenslust (for our Heart’s Desire) range, first launched in Germany in 2011 in a heart-shaped three-compartment pot.
Ehrmann's heart-shaped three-compartment pot range first launched in Germany in 2011.
